The shot heard 'round Amherst

AMHERST – Never has one shot had such an impact on an entire Calcutta than the one yesterday to wrap up the Elite Eight.

The Chieftans could have been sipping from the Chalise, other than one errant pass that found its way into enemy hands.

“The shot” opened the door for the Amigos and Catholic Boyz to keep their title hopes alive.  The Amigos can win it all with a Michigan sweep and can clinch a tie with a win in the Final Four.

The Catholic Boyz can only tie for the title and need an Illini sweep to accomplish that.

There is a rare scenario where all three can tie if Illinois beats Michigan in the final.

The Win-Docs and Counselors will continue to play looking for that natty cash and definitely will have the Chieftans riding their respective band wagons.

Let’s take a team-by-team capsule look into the weekend festivities:

Chieftans experience thrill of victory; agony of defeat all in one game

The Bunch of Chieftans looked like 9-time title holders (and could still get there) at halftime of the Duke-UConn game. What I’d give to see that group text thread. They now play leaders in the clubhouse with no dog left in the fight. Need help (or should I say “send help’).

Amigos almost pull off weekend double

At halftime on Saturday, it looked like the Amigos would be sitting chilly as Iowa continued to outkick their coverage and lead the Illini into the break. They held serve on Sunday with a powerful display by the Wolverines, but Arizona looms next weekend.

Catholic Boyz clinging to third

Purdue ran into a buzzsaw, but the Fightin Illini advance to let the Catholics see another day. You gotta be in it to win it and the Catholic Boyz have made a valiant Calcutta run. They secured a top three spot and can do no worse than third.

Counselors'
miraculous comeback – keeps them live for the natty

Need a sweep to cash – but had to be the moment of the tournament for the legal beagles.

Win-Doctors with the silent killer could take down the final

The Win-Docs get to follow for another weekend and the silent killer Arizona just keeps dismantling teams. Looking forward to the Michigan game and hoping it’s the late contest on Saturday.

Here are the eight potential scenarios and payouts:

UConn over Michigan:

Chieftans (11) - $750

Amigos (11) - $750

Catholic Boyz (9) - $300

Counselors - $200 

UConn over Arizona:

Chieftans (11) - $1,000

Amigos (10) - $500

Catholic Boyz (9) - $300

Counselors - $200 

Illinois over Michigan:

Catholic Boyz (11) - $800

Chieftans (11) - $600

Amigos (11) - $600  

Illinois over Arizona:

Catholic Boyz (11) - $950

Chieftans (11) - $750

Amigos (10) - $300 

Michigan over UConn:

Amigos (12) - $1,200

Chieftans (11) - $500

Catholic Boyz (9) - $300 

Michigan over Illinois:

Amigos (12) - $1,200

Chieftans (11) - $500

Catholic Boyz (10) - $300 

Arizona over UConn:

Chieftans (11) - $1,000

Amigos (10) - $500

Catholic Boyz (9) - $300

Win-Docs $200 

Arizona over Illinois:

Chieftans (11) - $1,000

Amigos (10) - $400

Catholic Boyz (10) - $400

Win-Docs $200

 

 

Good luck everyone!

 

Elders increase lead through Round Two

Elders strut to lead in 24 Calcutta

AMHERST -- The Elders, buoyed by their record-tying seven first round wins, have opened up a 3-win margin over a trio of challengers in the 2024 edition of the Buffalo Calcutta.

Utilizing the early-bird strategy of mid-round selections to perfection, the seniors dined and dashed through the first two rounds like Fred Astaire in Shall We Dance in 1937 (only the Elders will remember this flick).

With two 4-seeds and a five paving the way, the waters get deeper in the Sweet Sixteen as all three squads will face a top seed in the Molly Ringwald round.

Amigos in striking distance

The Amigos sit tied in second with the Counselors and Chieftans, three back of the old guys but with two 3-seeeds (Iowa State and Tennessee) and an 11 in NC State hoping their championship hopes are alive. They'll go into the Sweet Sixteen favored in two of the three matchups to try and make up some ground on the Elders. Draft strategy aside, no one thought the boys South of the Border (tough Dos a Cero loss last night) would be contending at this spot. Good work so far.

Counselors object to thoughts of their demise

The barristers had a steady weekend feast of ACC magic as they kept themselves closer to the leaders with the 6-Clemson upset of 3-Baylor, but the Grizzlies run was ended by the Amigos to square things off for the second-place tie. They still have some firepower with top seed UNC and the Tigers look like they're on a heater, so watch out for a late motion by the Counselors in the Sixteen.

"That's what's up" ~Brad Hall, Head Chef (not a typo)

The Bunch of Chieftans always make the Calcutta just a little more interesting. Top dog 1-Houston survived an upset bid by the Commish & Associate's Aggies and can put a nail in their coffin with a Gonzaga win over Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen. They go head-to-head with the Elders in the other matchuup which is HUGE. It's not exactly Notre Dame-Miami in football, but Houston-Duke has a bit of an edge to it and the Chiefs have the marker on this one. The race could tighten up quickly and the natives are ready for the task.

Team Commish hangin' round

Team Commish is hanging around in a fifth-place tie with the Slayers with Final Four hopes for their remaining squads. Max wins are 12 with a title matchup (odds 1 billion to 1) between opposite-bracketed Purdue and Illinois (how's that for draft strategy). A damaging loss by a game A&M squad who couldn't propel the regulation buzzer beater into an OT win....will likely end up being a costly loss. Purdue looking good, but it only gets tougher here on out.

There is no gambling at Bushwood, sir

The defending champs are wondering what it takes to get a mention in the morning blog and are using the "disrespect" card with some locker room bulletin board material after Saturday's omission. The Slayers, too, will ride two horses into the Sweet Sixteen albeit on the same side of the ledger, so max wins top out at 11.

They have the lowest ASR remaining with a 1-UConn and 2-Arizona and can start clearing the way with wins over the Elders and Counselors in their Sweet Sixteen matchups. They needed a Grand Canyon upset to boost their hopes, but they can still catch a piece and possibly win it all with some luck.

Can Bon Jovi save the Boyz?

They're not exactly half way there, as the Boyz can only max out with 10 wins with another same-side bracket issue (SSBI). The Big East commanded respect and the Catholic Boyz gave it to them, but unfortunately, the marbles-basket theory proved to be their downfall. Praying for a miracle at this point.

It was nice while it lasted....

From morning line favorites to Sayonara. It's been real, Win-Docs, hope you enjoyed the pizza.  The Win-Docs came into the Calcutta with visions of past glory only to get completely obliterated and without a win after opening day. Calling hours will be announced soon.

On to the Sweet Sixteen y'all.

Wild First Round in wide open Calcutta

 

Four teams share early lead

AMHERST – In a wild and wooly first round that saw a 16-seed upset 1-Purdue and 2-Arizona and 4-Virginia making early tee times, the 2023 Calcutta got off to a rousing start. 

Four teams (Win-Docs, Catholic Boyz, Counselors and Chieftans) are tied atop the leaderboard with three other squads within a point or two.  It has the makings of possibly the most competitive Calcutta in years.

The Win-Docs were rolling early with hopes of setting Calcutta history with a first round sweep. Going 4-0 on Thursday, the Docs were surgically moving through its early opponents with precision. St. Patty’s Day rolled around however, and the Docs went 1-3, but didn’t slip down the leaderboard.  5-Duke’s region is suddenly wide open and a big matchup with 5-Tenessee (Elders) on Saturday could vault them and the Docs into the Sweet Sixteen with a good chance to have three horses still in the race.

The Catholic Boyz also had a big Thursday holding serve with their top seeds and taking advantage of an upset by 15-Princeton over 2-Arizona (Slayers). The Boyz are back in town was heard playing in the Calcutta once again and today could decide whether they can start distancing themselves from the rest of the pack with four teams in action. A big matchup between 2-Marquette taking on 7-Michigan State (Counselors) looms on Sunday for two of the top teams to date.

 

The Counselors have started to rebound from last year’s debacle and after being shut out on Thursday, banged the gavel on Friday with five wins, none that were really in doubt.  They’ll be taking a recess today, but will come back strong on Sunday with strong arguments to be at the peak of the Calcutta by Sunday night. In addition to the big showdown with the Boyz, the 3-Gonzaga-TCU tilt with the Chieftans is another huge game amongst the leaders on Sunday.

 

Speaking of the Chieftans, they also had a big day, devouring their Friday opponents to tally four wins on the day and gain a slice of the lead. Surviving a 14-Kennesaw State (Commish) upset scare early in the afternoon, their top seeds mostly rolled. The 13-Furman buzzer beater was the difference for the Bunch, but they’ll play the underdog role in four of their five games slated for the Round of 32.  They’ll at least get an accidental win as they face off against themselves in the KSU-Kentucky fixture (that’s soccer talk).

 

Immediately behind the top four squads sits the Elders alone in fifth place one win behind and smarting from the 4-Virginia buzzer beater loss to the Chieftans (Furman). The old guys caned four opponents, but face an uphill battled as Tennessee heads up against a hot Duke squad and will face a 1 and 2 seed in two other contests. But don’t think the sextugenarian duo has started to shake their fists at the sky just yet.

 

Oh, Amigos….losing a top seed when all your eggs were in that basket. But, hey they had 16-FDU so all was not completely lost (close, though).  The Knights actually outplayed the Boilers all night and only need to beat a 9-seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.  They sit in sixth place tied with the Slayers with three wins. However, if Alabama rolls…… But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a merry Calcutta.   

 

The defending co-champs have some work to do. They face two difficult 4-5 games over the weekend and the Commish’s morning line “kiss of death” was being whispered around the office all morning on Thursday.  It’s unlikely the engraver will be putting the Slayers on the Chalise this year.

 

Sitting in his mom’s basement is the Commish. An agonizing Friday complete with a computer slam after the 9-FAU buzzer beater (Slayers getting revenge) and Kennesaw giving up a 13-point lead in the final 10 minutes puts the potential three-peat in serious jeopardy. Can only max out with 10 wins if Kansas or Texas run the table, so rooting for a whole lot of whupping up against each other up above.

 Enjoy the Round of 32 Calcuttians.

 

 

 

 

Elite Eight Report: Counselors suffer "Black Friday" collapse

Amherst, N.Y. - The Elite Eight is set and the morning line favorites have run their course. They still sit atop the perch, but a late night three-jack by 3-Florida, added to their three-team collapse in the Sweet Sixteen. With visions of record book glory going out the window in double-digit losses by 3-Baylor and 4-Butler, The Counselors will sit back and root for Kansas to defeat Florida in Phoenix, to hold onto third-place finish.

For the Commish and Associate, it's been a Cinderella Story, led by the charging Gamecocks of 7-South Carolina. Big matchups with the Catholic Boys loom over the weekend, that will vault one of these two teams in front of the Counselors. Ironically, each team has a 1-seed and the UNC-Kentucky game could be the game that determines the owner of this year's Yellow Jacket. Team Commish sends three teams to the Elite Eight for the first time in Calcutta history and today's Zaga-Xavier battle will either vault them to the lead or create a three-way tie atop the standings.

It's been a Cinderella Story so far for the Commish.

The Catholic Boyz enter the Elite Eight with 1-UNC and 10-Xavier in position to capture their first title since 2009 and outright since 2006. Fueled by a nice run by the surprising X-men from Cincinnati, a win over the Zags could be the icing on the cake.  The Boyz strut into the Elite Eight with a quiet confidence shown best by George's father looking to tar and feather the Commish and bring home the Chalise (sic).

Tar Heels and Musketeers 

The Tax Slayers took it on the chin in a very entertaining 3-UCLA-Kentucky game Friday night, but the wizards from Westwood ran out of gas and succumbed to late game Ball-hogging. The remain in the hunt for National Champion and a piece of the exotics with 3-Oregon, but a big battle with the team that has looked the best so far in the tournament, Kansas, is on the horizon.

The Slayers need help, but survive and advance is the name of the game.

The Elders just won't die. 4-Florida evaded a late game collapse to knock the Counselors out of the '17 Calcutta and will need to reach the Final Four for a chance at cashing. The GIF below could have easily been Jason from Friday the 13th, but we settled on Monty Python.



The Bunch sit at five wins with 1-Kansas and can only max out at eight, tops. So the Chieftans are out of the money in this year's Calcutta, but for the National Champ prize, which they have claimed four times over the years, the last in 2014. They get to play spoiler the rest of the way and will have more than one Calcutta squad rooting them on in Elite Eight, and possibly the Final Four.

One more look at last night's buzzer beater....

Good luck and Final Four report on Sunday night.

Two Horse Race Down the Stretch Into Sweet Sixteen

Buffalo NY (UPI)

The Bunch of Brady notched three out of five today to hit the 10 win mark heading into the Sweet Sixteen tied with the Win-Doctors who pulled off 4 second round wins of their own and a share of the Calcutta lead.
The Bunch hammered out two more upset wins with the Big Red of Cornell and the Xavier Musketeers of the Ivy and A-10, respectively who took down giant conference foes from the Big Ten (Wisconsin) and the Big East (Pitt) to head into the Sweet Sixteen. Their highest seed West Virginia took care of business in the B-Lo and they once again head into next weekends tilts with four teams. One off the second round record of 5 victories, they were denied by a missed 3 pointer in OT by Texas A&M.

The Win-Doctors, however, appear to have all engines turning, claiming four Sweet Sixteeners, including #1 Duke (looking like a bargain for $30), #2 Ohio State (playing solid ball) and two lower seeds Washington (not a bad #11) and Tennessee. They've been extra quiet though, but don't hold your breath, I think they're about to come out of hibernation after posting 10 wins in four days. They also have a guaranteed victory with OSU playing Tennessee in Friday night's opening telecast. They have only one head to head with the Bunch (WVU - Washington) kicking off Thursday night's action.

The Catholic Boyz are currently four lengths back in third all alone with 6 wins with a huge victory by Sparty and the boys with this buzzer beater.....



The Amigos, Statesmen and Tax Men all sit tied in fourth (one win out of the money) with five wins. The Amigos have two one longshots longshot left in ODU and Northern Iowa and the Statesmen (St. Mary's) and Tax Men (Kansas State) are down to their last squads.

Rounding out the bottom are the Counselors who were taking their one-a-day vitamins with one win each of the four days having Kentucky and Purdue remaining. With only four wins, they'll need to run the table to make any noise.

The Commish and Associates completely shut it down and has their lone beloved Orangemen left and only national title hopes for the 2010 Calcutta. They did avoid having the lowest first round total ever (2) thanks to the thrashing that occurred this afternoon at HSBC.

On to the Sweet Sixteen......hope you're all enjoying this year's edition of the 'cutta.

The Commish

Longshots Reign on Opening Day and the Big Least

West Amherst, NY (AP)

It was a big day for longshots The Tax Men and the Elder Statesmen, both hammering out 3 wins on day one. In a day where three Big East teams bit the dust (Georgetown, Notre Dame and Marquette) and another survived a major scare (Villanova) from a #15 seed from the Northeast Conference (Robt Morris), there were lots of story on the Calcutta front.

The Tax Men showed their mettle winning with their #2 seeds and picking up a major upset with the MAC champion Ohio Bobcats treating Georgetown with a little Hoya Suxa. With Maryland and Florida State representing tomorrow, the Tax Men could move into the second round with a solid four teams. Their only loss of the day was #14 seed Montana late into the evening.

The Elders shook off the longshot designation and picked up two major upsets with Murray State beating Vandy at the buzzer and St. Mary's (Cal) easily handling the itsy bitsy Spiders of Richmond. Kansas held court and all of a sudden the Elders are in the thick of things again. Here's another look at the buzzer beater by the Speed Racers:




While the Elders and Tax Men were reveling in their day one fortunes, yours truly is looking at sharing the bottom of the barrel record for first round wins and threatening to own it. The Commish dialed up goose eggs (see inset) with shots at the end of two games that went clank. Losing Georgetown pretty much was the kiss of death and it was nice knowing you all.



The morning line favorites, the Counselors, couldn't seem to handle the pressure being the chalk going into the tourney as defending co-champs. Major losses by Vandy, Marquette and Notre Dame have this team with a lot of catching up to do.


The Win-Doctors had a decent showing with wins from Tennessee, BYU and Washington offset by a loss from #16 seed E. Tennessee State. So they are on the board with the two longshot teams, all with three victories on Day 1.


The Bunch of Chieftans grabbed a Butler win and Sam Houston was game in defeat, but couldn't put it together in the final two minutes. Big day for the Chieftans tomorrow.


The Amigos had an up and down .500 day, pulling off a pair of upsets with Old Dominion taking out the Irish and Northern Iowa 3-balling the Rebels out of the tourney, and New Mexico surviving a scare from the Grizz. The other half of their Virginia contingent, Richmond didn't hold up their end of the bargain, and SDSU played valiantly before losing to the Vols (with some help from the refs) before some late night hearbreak.

It was a quiet day for the defending co-champion Catholic Boyz until about 12:30am when the bell tolled for Wake Forest and another OT buzzer beater plunging a dagger into the Amigos. The Boyz will get things really revved up tomorrow with five squads in action.

As the Commish will be at the regionals downtown all day tomorrow, the big board will be updated on Saturday morning.

No matter what happens, just remember, chicks dig the long ball.....